I have to admit it has been a while since I have read a historical
romance and I wasn't sure if I would really enjoy this book, but this
book made me remember just how enjoyable historical romances could be. I
LOVED this book. It had everything I could have asked for: a strong
heroine, a glorious hero, mystery, love scenes, action, and
unpredictable plot twists.



It is set in nineteenth century Britain, a time period I know nothing
about to be honest (I majored in English, not history), but because of
the excellent writing it didn't matter. I was given all of the
information I needed to understand the story right off the bat. Scott
took an actual event, the Cato Street Conspiracy (a plot to assassinate
the king's Cabinet) which took place almost two decades before the
events of the book, and made a fictional story out of what happened
after. The story is told in third person and includes documents written
by different characters in the story. The documents were especially
interesting in that they help push the story forward and also give a
great feel for the time period of the story.



As far as characters go I loved Phoebe Wallington, the heroine of the
piece, so much. She is tough, strong-willed, and refuses to take crap
from anyone. She is an heiress whose father was accused of treason. She
takes matters into her own hands and works to find the truth only to be
kidnapped. If this book took place in modern day the fact that she takes
matters into her own hands wouldn't be that big of a deal, but due to
the time period (a time when women didn't have many rights) it says a
great deal about her character. I also loved the hero/kidnapper, Kiernan
MacGregor (the Marquess of Ashlund), who was honorable, sexy, funny,
and pretty much everything else you could want in a male lead. The two
had such great chemistry and I loved watching them interact. The best
scenes between then were the funnier, more playful ones.



The dialogue in this book was impeccable and made me love the love story
between Phoebe and Kiernan all the more. This book was quick-paced and
full of action, romance, and suspense. It is well written and
beautifully timed and organized. It definitely embodied everything there
is to love about historical romance novels. And on top of that it took
root in real events, making it more realistic and interesting. This is a
must read for any lover of historical romance or historical fiction in
general.
Book Cracker Caroline